“When Leaders Must Override the Algorithm”
“When Leaders Must Override the Algorithm”
Blog Article
Inside a strategy forum hosted at AIM in Manila, Joseph Plazo—founder of AI investment firm Plazo Sullivan Roche—offered a message rarely heard in boardrooms today: pause.
His technology powers some of Asia’s most reliable portfolio strategies.
And yet, he stood in front of the next generation of business leaders to say:
“A bot can optimize a trade. Only a leader can own its consequences.”
???? **From Execution to Ethics: What Leaders Must Still Own**
Plazo is not retreating from AI—he’s refining how it’s led.
“Without strategic intent, execution becomes risk acceleration.”
He recalled a moment in 2020: a bot under his direction flagged a short on gold—hours before the Federal Reserve’s emergency announcement.
“We reversed the trade. The machine was right on data—but wrong on timing.”
???? **Leadership Isn’t Measured in Milliseconds**
Plazo introduced a concept he now teaches internally: **Strategic Friction**.
“The time to reflect is often what distinguishes a great firm from a good one.”
He then outlined **Conviction Calculus**, a leadership-level framework for decision validation in AI-assisted organizations:
- Is this trade aligned with our cultural and ethical commitments—not just portfolio performance?
- Have human signals—history, intuition, market tone—been applied as counterbalance?
- Does our governance framework include accountability for algorithmic decisions?
???? **The Scaling of Systems Must Be Matched by Strategic Intent**
Plazo pointed to Asia’s surging fintech sector—with massive investments in algorithmic trading and automation infrastructure from Singapore, South Korea, and the Philippines.
But he cautioned:
“Speed has outpaced strategic read more alignment. That is dangerous.”
He referenced recent collapses of AI-driven hedge funds in Hong Kong in 2024, where systems failed to interpret macroeconomic risk.
“They didn’t fail because they were illogical. They failed because no one asked, ‘Should we act?’”
???? **Plazo’s Vision: Narrative-Integrated AI**
Plazo is now advancing what he calls **“narrative-integrated AI”**—systems that integrate geopolitical signals, regulatory context, intent, and human tone into algorithmic output.
“Strategy lives in story, not just numbers,” he said. “AI must learn to read both.”
Following his talk, venture firms from Tokyo and Jakarta began discussions on enterprise-level governance systems for algorithmic infrastructure.
One executive called the talk:
“The most practical leadership lens for automated systems I’ve heard in years.”
???? **What Happens When No One Says 'Wait'?**
Plazo closed with a sobering truth:
“Flawless execution without intent can still cause systemic damage.”
The message was clear: AI may dominate execution, but humans must lead intention.